--- title: A 4-year-old Pennsylvania Boy Was Summoned for Jury Duty description: The law of the land in the United States is that anyone charged with a crime must be convicted by a jury of peers. So... canonical: https://time.com/5243086/boy-summoned-jury-duty/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-18T15:28:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:52:14.492Z og:title: A 4-year-old Pennsylvania Boy Was Summoned for Jury Duty og:description: He has preschool that day og:url: https://time.com/5243086/boy-summoned-jury-duty/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87512076ea5c346f/6988d4407cdbac58bdd59096/sexist-laws-explained-north-carolina-sexual-consent-law.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Empty chairs in jury box og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A 4-year-old Pennsylvania Boy Was Summoned for Jury Duty twitter:description: He has preschool that day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87512076ea5c346f/6988d4407cdbac58bdd59096/sexist-laws-explained-north-carolina-sexual-consent-law.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Busy 4-Year-Old Boy Was Summoned for Jury Duty But He Has Preschool That Day by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Apr 18, 2018 3:28 PM UTC  Empty Jury Seats in Courtroom Empty Jury Seats in CourtroomGetty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Apr 18, 2018 3:28 PM UTC The law of the land in the United States is that anyone charged with a crime must be convicted by a jury of peers. So if any [four-year olds are headed](http://time.com/5224255/john-oliver-immigration-courts-last-week-tonight/) to court soon, Pennsylvania is ready. Four-year old Damien Shrader received a summons in the mail, and according to [WNEP](http://wnep.com/2018/04/17/four-year-old-summoned-for-jury-duty/), it ordered the preschooler to report to the Luzerne County Courthouse to fulfill his civic obligations. Unfortunately, Shrader has a conflict on his schedule (“He has preschool that day,” according to his mother) and won’t be able to take the day off to sit on a jury. Shrader’s parents went to the Luzerne County [Courthouse](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2036448,00.html) Tuesday and explained the situation. As anyone who has tried to get out of jury duty know, normally it’s pretty difficult to convince the court that you need a deferral. Luckily for Shrader, the court quickly realized that they did not need a four-year old juror and the preschooler was granted a formal excuse from [jury](http://time.com/5066679/donald-trump-federal-judges-record/) duty for at least 15 years or so. “He’s always been a very serious child, but I didn’t think he was quite ready for that kind of a thing, there,” Shrader’s mom Desiree told [WNEP](http://wnep.com/2018/04/17/four-year-old-summoned-for-jury-duty/). According to WNEP, the court administrator believes the child’s name was added to the list of potential jurors thanks to being listed on tax documents after his great-grandmother bought him stocks. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5243086/boy-summoned-jury-duty/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5243086/boy-summoned-jury-duty/"},"headline":"Busy 4-Year-Old Boy Was Summoned for Jury Duty But He Has Preschool That Day","datePublished":"2018-04-18T15:28:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:52:14.492Z","description":"The law of the land in the United States is that anyone charged with a crime must be convicted by a jury of peers. 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